Your Daily Phil: Canada’s crackdown on Jewish nonprofits escalates
Add EJP on GoogleGood Tuesday morning!
In today’s edition of Your Daily Phil, we examine the Canadian government’s revocation of three Jewish nonprofits’ tax-exempt status. We interview Laura Lauder about her $500,000 annual investment in a program for interfaith couples, and report on a new federal lawsuit by families of Oct. 7 victims against the crypto firm Binance. We feature opinion pieces by Rabbi Benjamin Ross and Alexandra Corwin about the recent report from Atra on surveying rabbis and rabbinical students about the present status and future of their field. Also in this issue: Marc Rowan, Alexander Berger and Noam Bedein.
What We’re Watching
Palestinian terror groups have just turned over to Israel what they say are the remains of a slain hostage, a day after the Palestinian Islamic Jihad confirmed it was in possession of a body.
Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America is marking today’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women by launching an initiative with 29 organizations to push the United Nations to take additional action to prevent conflict-related sexual violence.
What You Should Know
The Canadian Revenue Agency has revoked the tax-exempt status of three Jewish nonprofits on the grounds of poor bookkeeping. The three organizations — the Canadian Foundation for Masorti Judaism, a philanthropic arm of Canada’s Conservative Jewish community; Mazel Charity Fund, a private foundation that gives to Jewish causes; and Herut Canada Charitable Foundation, a right-wing Zionist group — join a growing list of nonprofits whose tax-exempt status has been stripped recently, reports eJewishPhilanthropy’s Nira Dayanim.
Sources familiar with the matter told eJP that the Canadian tax authority is believed to be auditing other Jewish organizations as well and that while the groups may indeed have fallen afoul of Canadian tax law, the decision to investigate them in the first place appears to be ideologically motivated. It is not yet clear if this is being driven by outside activists who are filing complaints against the organizations or if Canadian tax officials are directing this effort internally.
This crackdown on nonprofits that support causes in Israel is not limited to Canada. The United Kingdom’s Charity Commission recently warned the country’s Mizrachi organization that it may lose tax-exempt status over a fundraiser to provide IDF soldiers with equipment.
In Canada, the letters sent to all three organizations said that audits of the groups found that they were not maintaining proper “books and records.” In the case of the Masorti foundation, the CRA also said that the organization was giving grants to “inadequate donees,” and “providing non-incidental private benefits,” all of which it said justified the revocation.
According to Rabbi Sean Gorman, the executive director of Mercaz and the Canadian Foundation for Masorti Judaism, during earlier CRA audits in 2019 and 2022, the organization was not warned of any issues with the recipients of its grants. “If our donees were problematic in 2022 when they started auditing our account again, they were probably problematic in 2019. The laws on that did not change, right?”
While Gorman said that this appears to be part of a trend, he refrained from labeling it as antisemitic. “There should come a point where people at a level, higher than my own, should be starting to ask when coincidence becomes a trend. When coincidence becomes trend, there should be a more organized response,” Gorman told eJP. “I’m not in the camp of ‘Something’s fishy here.’ Not at all. But I very much understand the concerns of those who are in that camp, right?”
Q&A
Still preferring Jewish marriages, Laura Lauder pledges $500K annually to boost interfaith couples
In 2022, the same year that Laura Lauder’s son married his non-Jewish wife, the Bay Area-based philanthropist launched Embark, a six-week program for young couples in mixed-heritage or interfaith relationships, inspired by a similar program that her son and daughter-in-law participated in at Manhattan’s Central Synagogue called the Center for Exploring Judaism. Within three years, Embark has run over 25 cohorts for 300 individuals, teaching interfaith families how to implement Jewish traditions into their homes to whatever extent they desired. In 2023, the program was folded into Mem Global, the parent company of Jewish-outreach organization Moishe House, and in the coming year, the program will hold 30 cohorts in 14 cities. Since its inception, Lauder has invested $1.5 million in the initiative, with plans to continue investing $500,000 every year indefinitely.
Lauder sat down with eJewishPhilanthropy’s Jay Deitcher yesterday to discuss whether she has received criticism for her support of interfaith couples and the tension caused by Israeli politics within these relationships.
JD: We’re at this moment in time, post-Oct. 7. The war in Gaza has seemingly ended. The living hostages are back. Most of the slain hostages are back. Over the past few years, we’ve seen the philanthropic world throw much of its money at antisemitism with very little proof that it’s doing anything, considering antisemitism continues to skyrocket. How have your views on philanthropy changed?
LL: It has not changed. I am still just as focused on: No. 1, first and foremost, joyful Judaism and experiences. No. 2, Jewish education, Jewish day schools, camps, preschools, experiences like Embark. I have a separate bucket for [donations to] Israel. … As far as Israel is concerned, in Embark, there’s a unit on it in the program. And we hope that these young people will keep their views on the issue on the Gaza war out of their decision as to how much they want to incorporate Judaism in their lives. I’m hoping that this particular Israeli government doesn’t dissuade them from wanting to have more Judaism in their lives.
I’m deeply Zionist. I don’t draw a line of saying, ‘If you’re an anti-Zionist, you cannot participate in Embark.’ I would never say that, but I am counting on the rabbis [leading Embark programing] to ensure thoughtful dialog and discussion about these issues in the Embark cohorts in a way that doesn’t just take over the Embark cohort.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
New lawsuit accuses Binance of ‘knowingly’ enabling Oct. 7 terror attacks
A new federal lawsuit filed on behalf of families of victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks accuses the crypto giant Binance of knowingly facilitating the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars to U.S.-designated foreign terror organizations on an “industrial scale,” helping contribute to the deadly incursion in Israel that killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, reports Matthew Kassel for eJewishPhilanthropy’s sister publication Jewish Insider.
The accusations: According to the complaint, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, “deliberately” failed “to monitor inbound funds” to such terror groups as Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, ensuring “that terrorists and other criminals could deposit and shuffle enormous sums on the exchange with impunity.” The complaint states, “Moreover, when specific customers were designated or particular accounts were subject to seizure orders, Binance allowed those customers and accounts to shift the assets into other Binance accounts, thus negating the effect of any ‘blocking’ or ‘seizing’ of the account.”
Read the full report here and sign up for Jewish Insider’s Daily Kickoff here.
STRAIN ON THE SYSTEM
We don’t (only) have a rabbinic pipeline problem
“When ‘From Calling to Career: Mapping the Current State and Future of Rabbinic Leadership,’ Atra’s new study on the future of the rabbinate, dropped, much of the early chatter focused on one headline-grabbing statistic: that a majority (51%) of non-Orthodox rabbinical students now identify as LGBTQ+,” writes Rabbi Benjamin Ross, founder and executive director of the Amen Center for Civic and Spiritual Leadership, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “Obsessing over whether there are ‘too many’ LGBTQ+ rabbis is, frankly, a distraction from the far greater crisis this report surfaces: the increasingly unsustainable nature of congregational life and rabbinic work itself.”
Communities as ecosystems: “The Atra report listens closely to rabbis and rabbinical students across denominations, and it names the real deterrents — debt, relocation, pay, job insecurity, isolation — without blaming anyone. It also confirms what many of us feel in our bones: the work is deeply meaningful, and the path precarious. … The problem isn’t a lack of idealism and personal fulfillment, as the report captures 97% of rabbis say their work is rewarding and meaningful. If we take that seriously, our main question shifts from ‘How do we convince more people to become rabbis?’ to ‘How do we build communities where the calling can be lived with integrity, joy and sustainability?’ That is ecosystem work.”
PUTTING DATA TO WORK
Three ways to unpack Atra’s new rabbinic leadership study with your team
“At Ammud, we affirm, educate and build leadership among Jews of color, supporting them to be empowered members and leaders of Jewish community and peoplehood. Given Ammud’s involvement in the rabbinical pipeline conversation, ‘From Calling to Career’ has quickly become a foundational tool for our analysis, clarity and storytelling,” writes Alexandra Corwin, Ammud’s executive director, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “I implore all leaders and teams of organizations that support rabbis and rabbinical students to make the most of this research by engaging in critical examination with your team.”
Think deeply: “Give staff the space and prioritization to read the full report, not only with the intention of learning and absorbing the important statistics, but ideating on connections between different data points and how it relates to your organization’s work. … [For instance, are] there assumptions embedded in our internal definitions that others — both inside and outside our organization — might not immediately recognize? How do the definitions used ‘From Calling to Career’ align or differ from the language our organization uses internally, and how might we need to shift our definitions to operate more consistently and collaboratively within the field? What new insights and opportunities come to light with the new definitions ‘From Calling to Career’ introduced?”
Worthy Reads
Donor Revolt: In The New York Times, Alan Blinder and Stephanie Saul examine the role that university donors — and particularly Marc Rowan — have played in shaping President Donald Trump’s stances towards higher education. “Their prescriptions for campuses have often drawn fire from higher education leaders, including presidents and chancellors who believe academia needs to listen to some of its critics. … But figures like Mr. Rowan have argued that universities are not doing enough to change themselves and that outside forces like the federal government have roles to play. … Mr. Trump has embraced that view for higher education — envisioning significant power for Washington and vast sway for the outsiders shaping his own policies.” [NYTimes]
If These Stones Could Talk: In the Jewish Journal, historian Rafael Medoff calls for an accounting, restitution and an official apology for the theft, destruction and desecration of an estimated 38,000 gravestones from the Mount of Olives cemetery in Jerusalem when Jordan occupied parts of the city from 1948 to 1967. “On July 5, 1967, just weeks after the Six Day War and the liberation of Jerusalem, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported the discovery of what it called ‘one of the most shocking reported episodes of the 19-year occupation by Jordan of Mount of Olives Cemetery.’ Israeli officials found that ‘tombstones from the historic burial ground had been used in the construction of an Arab Legion camp near Jericho,’ the JTA reported. ‘Tombstones carted from the cemetery [were] used for the main parade ground, roads, buildings and even the lavatory structure. Inscriptions were still visible on the desecrated stones…’” [JewishJournal]
Give Ambitiously: In the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Coefficient Giving CEO Alexander Berger shares lessons from over a decade in the field of “impact-focused” giving. “We still have many questions about the best ways to give to help others, but we strive to act quickly in the face of uncertainty while learning and iterating over time. Many of our early wins took time to mature, and we’ve learned important lessons from bets that didn’t succeed. However, giving with urgency is still too rare. … In some fast-moving fields like AI or biotechnology, there’s a narrow window where new funders can play a crucial role in reducing risks. And for other immediate challenges like global health, there are scalable and shovel-ready initiatives that could save millions of lives in the coming years. My hope is that sharing these lessons will inspire others in a position to give to do so strategically and ambitiously, and to share their own lessons in turn.” [SSIR]
Word on the Street
The Israeli food rescue nonprofit Leket Israel-the National Food Bank found that 39% of Israeli food was wasted last year, which the organization calculates as costing Israel $2.7 billion in damage to the environment and in health care costs…
Over the next two weeks, NFL players will highlight the charities that they support on their shoes as part of the league’s My Cause My Cleats project…
The Eurovision Song Contest is changing its rules for the upcoming competition, reducing the number of votes each fan can cast, splitting fans from professional judges and discouraging promotional campaigns; this is apparently a response to Israel winning the audience vote last year despite a lower ranking from the jury…
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce is launching investigations into the public school systems in Berkeley, Calif.; Fairfax County, Va.; and Philadelphia over the districts’ handling of complaints of antisemitism in recent years…
Len Blavatnik purchased for $115 million the East Hampton, N.Y., home previously owned by former Warner Bros. Chairman Terry Semel, marking the most expensive single residential home sale in the Hamptons’ history…
The owners of Washington, D.C., bagel chain Call Your Mother filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the owner of the New Jersey-based Bubbi Bagels, which uses a similar logo and the phrase “Call Your Bubbi” on its marketing materials…
The New York Times spotlights musician David Amram, whose varied works include an opera about Jewish inmates at a concentration camp holding a Passover Seder and the “Songs of the Soul” symphony that combines Jewish folk elements from around the world…
Colombian officials took 17 children into protective custody after conducting a raid on a hotel where members of the Lev Tahor sect had been staying; authorities said the nine adults accompanying the children, who were questioned by officials, would likely be deported…
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is formally closing down weeks after suspending its operations following the ceasefire last month between Israel and Hamas…
Major Gifts
The Ballmer Group is donating $72 million in behavioral health care projects in Illinois, Kansas and Michigan…
The Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies and Buffalo (N.Y.) Jewish Federation are donating $500,000 to FeedMore WNY and $250,000 each to the Buffalo City Mission and Friends of the Night People…
The John Templeton Foundation is awarding a three-year $4.5 million grant to the Constructive Dialogue Institute to “foster dialogue and intellectual humility across higher education”…
Transitions
Noam Bedein has been named the director of the Gaza-bordering Shaar Henegev region’s international relations department…
Ori Stern has been hired to lead Anu Museum of the Jewish People’s new Memshal-Am program, which trains Israeli civil servants on Jewish Peoplehood issues…
The Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Md., announced Jonathan Levy as its incoming head of school, succeeding Rabbi Mitchel Malkus…
Dr. Tamar Elram will step down as director of Jerusalem’s Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital at the end of this year; Dr. Avi Israeli, who previously served as director-general of Hadassah and director-general of Israel’s Health Ministry, will serve as interim director of the hospital until a permanent success for Elram is found…
Fernando Lottenberg was reappointed as the special advisor on antisemitism at the Organization of American States…
Pic of the Day
The Ohr Torah Stone network of schools and organizations presents the inaugural Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Legacy Prize to former Israeli politician Natan Sharansky (second from left) and philanthropist Robert M. Beren, a longtime supporter of the organization who died in 2023, at the group’s annual gala last week in New York City. The award recognized the two men for their “leadership and service to the Jewish people.”
Pictured above, from left: OTS Israel Board Chair Menachem Spitz; Sharansky; Geoffrey Stern; OTS President and Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Kenneth Brander; and OTS North American Board Chair Laurence Schreiber.
Birthdays
Historian at Tel Aviv University, focused on religious phenomena in the Middle Ages, he is also president of the Ruppin Academic Center in Israel, Aviad Kleinberg turns 68…
Writer, lawyer, actor, and economic commentator, including an Emmy Award-winning stint as a game show host, Ben Stein turns 81… President and CEO of the American Council for Capital Formation, Mark A. Bloomfield turns 76… Comic book writer and novelist, during his 16-year stint writing X-Men from 1975 to 1991, it is the best-selling comic book in the world, Christopher S. Claremont turns 75… Israeli scholar of Arab culture and a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University, Mordechai Kedar turns 73… Obstetrician and gynecologist, he is a past president of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, Norman Ravski, MD turns 72… Beverly Hills, Calif., commercial real estate investor, Albert Ahobim… Retired men’s college basketball coach with 615 career wins, he won coach of the year honors four times in two different conferences, Ben Braun turns 72… Director of the Chabad House in Johannesburg, South Africa, Rabbi David Masinter turns 66… Retired senior research scientist at ExxonMobil and editor of Rav J.B. Soloveitchik’s commentary to the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur machzorim, Arnold Lustiger… Israeli fashion and wedding dress designer, her reality TV show airs in over 145 countries worldwide, Pnina Tornai turns 63… Member of the Knesset for the Likud, he was the editor-in-chief at the Israel Hayom newspaper, Boaz Bismuth turns 61… Actress, comedian, entertainer and past member of the Tel Aviv-Yafo city council, Orna Banai turns 59… CEO of the Israeli American Council, Elan Carr turns 58… Founder and former managing director at Beacon Global Strategies LLC, Philippe Reines turns 56… Attorney and former member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2003 until 2011, Adam Hasner turns 56… Strategic communications manager at the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, Lauren Sueskind Theodore… Judge of the U.S. District Court for Maryland, Julie Rebecca Rubin turns 53… Former member of both houses of the South Dakota Legislature, now a bail bondsman and a teacher at Congregation Beth Shalom in Sioux City, Iowa, Daniel Isaac Lederman turns 53… United States deputy secretary of labor, Keith Sonderling turns 43… Executive editor at Jewish Insider, Melissa Weiss turns 39… Deputy Washington editor and democracy editor for the Guardian, Kira Lerner… Bitcoin advocate and podcast host, Charles “Charlie” Shrem IV turns 36…
